Mascalls Academy Are Seeking Views on an Amendment to Its Admissions Policy for Students Applying to Enter Secondary Education in the Academic Year 2021-22
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Mascalls Academy are seeking views on an amendment to its Admissions Policy for students applying to enter secondary education in the academic year 2021-22. Leigh Academies Trust (LAT) is the Admissions Authority for Mascalls Academy and all academies within the Trust, and as such is responsible for the admissions arrangements for each. Summary of Proposals: LAT is proposing to add new criteria to the admission arrangements of Mascalls Academy. As Paddock Wood Primary Academy and Horsmonden Primary Academy have recently joined the Trust the academies would, in common with other Trust secondary academies, like to amend the admission arrangements for Mascalls Academy to offer some preferential access to pupils educated in Trust primary academies. A new criteria would be inserted into the Mascalls Academy arrangements which would offer this access to no more than 40 pupils or 17% of the cohort, the criteria states: • Trust primaries - 40 places will be available to children attending a Leigh Academies Trust primary academy. Applications will only be given priority in this category if the Leigh Academies Trust secondary academy to which they are applying is closest to their home. If oversubscribed in this category it will be the 40 closest to the Academy that will be admitted. In addition, Mascalls Academy would like to set a further criteria providing preferential access to staff members of the academy. This would assist the academy in the recruitment and retention of staff. The criteria states: • Child of a Staff Member- The son or daughter of a member of staff who has been recruited to fill a vacant post at the academy for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage. For this criteria son or daughter means a child who lives in the same house as the member of staff, including a natural son or daughter, an adopted child, stepson or daughter, or foster child. Children residing in the same households as part of an extended family, such as cousins, will not be eligible under this criterion. The Academy reserves the right to ask for proof of relationship. Mascalls Academy Admissions Arrangements 2021 - 2022 1. Arrangements for admission to 11-16 Provision a. Mascalls Academy has an agreed Published Admission Number (PAN) of 240 students. The Academy will accordingly admit up to 240 students in the relevant age group each year if sufficient applications are received. Where fewer applications than the PAN for the relevant year group are received Leigh Academies Trust will offer places at the academy to all those who have applied. 2. Process of application Applications for places at the Academy will be made in accordance with Kent County Council’s co- ordinated admission arrangements and will be made on the Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) provided and administered by the Kent County Council. Mascalls Academy will use the timetable for applications each year fit in with the common timetable agreed by Kent County Council or its Admissions Forum. The Closing date for applications is 31st October 2021. Applications for Children to be Taught Outside their Expected Year Group Where provided evidence must be specific to the child in question and may include medical or Educational Psychologist reports. Deferred applications will be processed in the same way as all applications for the cohort in the following admissions round, and offers will be made in accordance with the Academy’s oversubscription criteria. Oversubscription Criteria Where the number of applications for admission is greater than the published admission number, applications will be considered against the criteria set out below. After the admission of students with Statements of Education, or a Health and Care Plan (ECHPs) where Mascalls Academy is the named school, the statement, the criteria will be applied in the priority order in which they are set out below: As a result of admissions for students with Education, Health and Care Plans (ECHPs), the published admissions number will be reduced accordingly. Where applications for admission exceed the number of places available, the oversubscription criteria will be applied in the following priority order: 1 Children in Care pr previously Looked After Children – a child under the age of 18 years for whom the Local Authority provides accommodation in the exercise of their social care functions (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) This applies equally to children who immediately after being looked after by the Local Authority became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order. (As defined by Section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 or Section 8 or 14A of the Children Act 1989). 2 Students who will have a brother or sister at the Academy on the date of entry. For this criterion brother or sister means children who live as brother and sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters, foster brothers or sisters. Children residing in the same households as part of an extended family, such as cousins, will not be treated as siblings. If siblings from multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.) apply for the academy and the academy would reach its Published Admission Number (PAN) after admitting one or more, but before admitting all of those siblings, the academy will offer a place to each of the siblings, even if doing so takes the academy above its PAN. 3 Health and Special Access Reasons – Medical, health, social and special access reasons will be applied in accordance with the academy’s legal obligations, in particular those under the Equality Act 2010. Priority will be given to those children whose mental or physical impairment means they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Equally this priority will apply to children whose parents’/guardians’ physical or mental or social needs mean that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend the academy. Such claims will need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified medical or other practitioner, at the point of application, who can demonstrate a special connection between these needs and the school. 4 Child of a Staff Member- The son or daughter of a member of staff who has been recruited to fill a vacant post at the academy for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage. For this criteria son or daughter means a child who lives in the same house as the member of staff, including a natural son or daughter, an adopted child, stepson or daughter, or foster child. Children residing in the same households as part of an extended family, such as cousins, will not be eligible under this criterion. The Academy reserves the right to ask for proof of relationship. 5 Trust primaries - 40 places will be available to children attending a Leigh Academies Trust primary academy. Applications will only be given priority in this category if the Leigh Academies Trust secondary academy to which they are applying is the closest to their home. If oversubscribed in this category it will be the 40 closest to the academy that will be admitted. 6 Nearness of children’s homes to school – We use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the Academy, measured as the distance between the child's permanent home address and the school, measured in a straight line using the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) address point data. Distances are measured from a point defined as within the child's home to a point defined as within the school as specified by NLPG. The same address point on the school site is used for everybody. These straight line measurements are used to determine how close each applicant’s address is to the Academy with those living closest being given priority. If more than one applicant lives in a multi-occupancy building (e.g. flats) priority will be given to the applicant whose door number is the lowest numerically and/or alphabetically. Where parents live at separate addresses, and have joint custody, the address used will be the one where the child spends the main part of the academy week (i.e. Sunday night to Thursday night inclusive). Applications eligible under criteria 2 – 5 are each ranked in order of nearness of the child’s home to the Academy, using the method given in criterion 6. Tiebreaker In the unlikely event that two or more children living the same distance away from the academy and in all other ways have equal eligibility for the last available place at the academy, the names will be issued a number and drawn randomly to decide which child should be given a place. Late Applications All applications received by Kent County Council after the deadline will be considered to be late applications. Late applications will be considered after those received on time. Operations of Waiting Lists Mascalls Academy will operate a waiting list for each year group, where in any year the academy receives more applications for places than there are places available. This will be maintained by Mascalls Academy and it will be open to any parent to ask for his or her child’s name to be placed on the waiting list, following an unsuccessful application. Children’s position on the waiting list will be determined solely in accordance with the oversubscription criteria set out above. Where places become vacant they will be allocated to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. The waiting list will be reordered in accordance to the oversubscription criteria whenever anyone is added or leaves the waiting list. Appeals The school uses an Independent Appeals panel to consider appeals against non-admission. Parents have a right to appeal against refusal of a place in accordance with the School Admissions Appeals Code.